MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Keith Harris, 25, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 24 months in federal prison for possessing and concealing a stolen firearm. Harris pleaded guilty to this charge on April 12, 2018.

Harris was arrested by Madison police officers on October 30, 2017, for buying ammunition while under felony bond. That same day, law enforcement officers impounded an automobile belonging to Harris. Officers searched the vehicle and found a Glock 9mm pistol and an extended magazine in a hidden compartment. The Glock had been stolen 10 days earlier in a brazen burglary of PT Firearms in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. During that burglary, at about 3:30 am on October 20, 2017, three men smashed a stolen vehicle through the locked storefront of PT Firearms, gaining access to the store and its inventory. Within minutes, the men grabbed 14 firearms, mostly semi-automatic handguns, and fled.

Harris admitted that he got the Glock from one of the men involved in the burglary.

On June 12, 2018, Kahlil Lites, an associate of Harris, pleaded guilty to being involved in the theft of the guns from PT Firearms and possessing one of the stolen guns which was recovered through the investigation. Lites will be sentenced by Judge Conley on September 13, 2018.

The charges against Harris and Lites resulted from an extensive investigation conducted by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Madison and Cross Plains Police Departments. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to

reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.